Love it or hate it, there is no denying the popularity of the ever-so controversial video app TikTok. The app has over 500 million active users and was the second most downloaded app in 2019. It had also recently hit 41 Million daily active users outside of China while first-time downloads stand at a staggering 842 Million. Given the buzz it has generated among the masses ever since its inception, no wonder everyone wants a piece of the cake. While a number of similar apps have surfaced over the years with little success, a reportedly notable addition to this bandwagon is YouTube.
If a report published by The Information is to be believed, Alphabet-owned YouTube is working on a feature called Shorts, the platform’s response to Tik Tok in the sensationally famous short-form, user-generated content scene. Shorts won’t be developed as a stand-alone app, but it will rather be incorporated in the YouTube mobile app. The feature will let users upload short-videos that will run on a dedicated feed inside the mobile app.
Although one may argue that the feature is much like “old wine in a new bottle,” what YouTube is banking on is its huge catalog of licensed music and songs that users will be able to use for making the videos. While the argument seems fair on paper, it remains to be seen whether anyone can dethrone the infamous video app. Facebook had also tried a similar stunt some time back, introducing Lasso, a video-making app that it has been testing mostly in Brazil for a while now. But it is yet to generate any noteworthy traction.
But all isn’t bad for Youtube. One key area where Youtube could gain big lead over TikTok is user privacy. TikTok has been under scrutiny ever since it started moving out of China over user data security. The app has faced bans, has been charged, sued and what not. Such has been the scrutiny that US Navy termed the app a ‘potential threat’ and banned its usage among its personnel. This is one area where Youtube and perhaps Google too, can beat TikTok.
YouTube had been the undisputed king of the video market before TikTok’s arrival. Over the years, many different apps have come up giving competition to the undisputed status of YouTube. And while free video streaming continues to be a domain ruled by Youtube, TikTok has outnumbered almost all social media apps combined, when it comes to short form video.
And what do big tech companies generally do in the face of competition these days? Borrow features from your competitors and scale them through a massive pre-existing userbase. YouTube had introduced its own version of stories of while back, something native to Snapchat and later Instagram. And while that it did not garner much buzz, it now wants a piece of the TikTok glory. Only time will tell whether the feature will be a hit when it releases later this year.
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